Recently we jumped in the car and headed off to visit some friends in Wales. They live in Cardiff, but we were more adventurous than this suggests…

On a rather grey day we headed up Pen y Fan. Spoken of by our local friends as a bit of a stroll, we discovered it was a fairly substantial hike – I for one was extremely glad when we reached the top! (And I definitely wasn’t pulled up the final stretch… [ahem]) It was a stunning view, despite the lack of sun, and allowed us to see the Brecon Beacons in a new light.

Even hiking gets arty, if you cross a stream…

The following day was distinctly brighter, and we went into Cardiff itself. We visited lovely Roath Park for a trip in a rowing boat on the lake. Aside from the extreme levels of pondweed, it was very pleasant. There were swans to admire:

Pretty views from our traditional wooden rowing boat:

And some action shots of birds flying over the water.

We then walked back through the park itself (via the ice cream van, of course) and explored a bit further.

Have you ever been to Cardiff? What would you recommend to visitors?